Monday, April 30, 2012

The Willesden Herald is pleased and excited to announce that David Means, one of the very top short story writers in the world, has kindly agreed to be the judge for our next short story competition. David Means' stories have a diamond-like sharpness and clarity, in which we visit locations, society and climates as vividly as in a waking dream. I couldn't point to Sault Ste Marie on the map but I feel I've been there. I've never hung onto a train but I sort of know what it's like now. I've never lived in an apartment in New York, or slept rough but... you get the picture. Writers, there are still a few months before the competition opens but you have your work cut out for you! (Ed)

Friday, April 27, 2012

In the UK you can text FOOD to 70007 to donate £5 to Unicef's appeal. Ewan McGregor assures us in his appeal video today that the money will go to feed the children. Here's another Unicef video about the crisis and there is a donate button beside the video on YouTube.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

12 April 2012: The results of the international Willesden Herald short story competition 2012 as judged by Roddy Doyle were announced at Willesden Green library centre tonight. First prize went to "Winter Lambing" by Virginia Gilbert. Equal runners up were "Curtains" by Charles Lambert and "Frost Heave" by Geraldine Mills. Thanks to all who helped tonight, more details to follow.

"Liars' League actors read extracts from six stories shortlisted for the international fiction prize, plus the winner and runners-up are revealed." The actors in order of appearance on the night: Susan Moisan, Camila Fiori, Silas Hawkins, Rob Witcomb, Adam Diggle, Will Goodhand. (More)

Friday, April 20, 2012

We've been going through the list of supporters and rewards and trying to get them all sent out.

If you chose a PDF copy as your reward, please check your email, as those have now been sent.

Most of the books have been dispatched or are in hand with Amazon.

We have sent emails to five more people whose addresses or book choices are still unknown.

Some of the money was used to increase the number of author copies from two to five per author this year. Some is going to providing the rewards. Some is going to the printing costs. When the dust settles I will publish a breakdown of where all the money went.

Thanks to everyone who backed the project on Kickstarter. Any problems or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us via Kickstarter or here.

Instead of trying to show the desktop sized pages, there is now a slimmed down layout that appears on mobile phones. It works rather like other phone apps and includes touch screen workings and all that jazz. It omits all the lists of links from the sides of the original template though.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Moments after a set on the island in the middle of the traffic, another impromptu performance of "This Time, Lord You Gave Me A Mountain" beside the old library centre this afternoon. "What name do you want on it, on YouTube?" (I asked several times.) "On YouTube? Paddy. I'm Irish, Patrick, Paddy. I was born here but ..." (His friends called him Teddy.)

From 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning football for kids aged 5 to 11 in Roundwood Park. If you are looking for the area, it is behind the aviary. The poster is about Football Camp, which is a different all-day thing running from Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th of April. Link

Great website. I never thought I'd find a website that appreciated the strange intensity of Willesden sunsets. It sounds ridiculous to say you don't see them anywhere else - but it's true isn't it?
- Zadie Smith (comments)

Despite your outrageous heightism, I would be very happy to take up your case with the Council...
- The Rt. Hon. Sarah Teather MP, Brent East
(Dear Feargal)

As you know yourself, the quest for form - the search for the voice and scale necessary to what one wishes to say
- is the primary effort of writing. This may lead one into novel writing at one point, and into the writing of sonnets later on
- rather as Beethoven confined himself almost exclusively to the string quartet after finishing the Op 125 symphony.
- Rana Dasgupta (Dear Feargal)

disclaimer

We have asked our columnists time and again only to post stories that are not not untrue, but frankly it would be easier to train monkeys. Please tell us if we have inadvertently hit on something not not true, and we will uncorrect it. (Ed.)

Except for permission to include in the Willesden Herald online or other media editions, contributors retain copyright and all other rights on their letters and submissions. Please include any link or email address in your signature line, if you want it published.